Farming brothers are youngest ever British sidecar champions

It’s not unusual in farming circles for sons to follow in their father’s footsteps. But what about in their father’s wheel tracks?

That is certainly the case for Jack and Sam Laidlow who were brought up on the family farm in Cumbria.

They have now forged a name for themselves in motorsport, becoming the youngest ever British sidecar champions in 2024.

See also: Midlands farmers row the Atlantic and raise over £132,000

There is no doubt that father Andrew blazed a trail, having raced on three wheels in the 1990s and early 2000s, achieving considerable success along the way.

“I raced sidecars for 15 years, including the Isle of Man TT 10 times, where my best result was finishing fourth,” says the 51-year-old sheep farmer.

“I was also Scottish champion, runner-up in the European championships, and did the World championships in 2006, where I ended up fifth.”

Andrew says he gave up competitive racing when the kids came along, finances got tight, and farming became the priority.

But his passion for motorbike racing prevailed and has clearly rubbed off on the next generation.

© Andy Laidlow

Farm life

Growing up on a farm provided the perfect opportunity for Jack, now 21, and Sam, 19, to hone their riding abilities.

They also developed the other technical and mental skills needed for a career in motorsport.

“I can’t remember a time when we weren’t able to drive and mess about on bikes,” says Jack, who now rides as the passenger on their 600cc racing machine.

“We had pit bikes from about the age of nine or 10, and would go tearing around the place, pretending we were Carl Fogarty.

“We also grew up repairing machinery. I’d come in after school and there were always things to tinker with.

“In farming, you have to be a Jack of all trades, which has set me up well for my racing career.”

Jack recalls how they even added a home-made sidecar to one of the pit bikes. “Farming definitely shaped our sidecar racing ideas,” he says.

Racing bikes

Younger brother Sam agrees that farming was the ideal training ground, though he actually made the move into motorbike racing at an earlier age.

“I was 11 when I started in the British Mini Bikes championship, racing on tarmac all around the country, before progressing to British Junior Sports,” he says.

“At that stage, it was all just for fun – an opportunity to get away from the farm with my parents for a few weekends a year.

“But it was on the 400cc bikes, at the age of 14 or 15, that I started to have some success. That success was hard won, as other teams had bigger budgets, but it really honed my racing skills.”

Jack did not start racing until he was 16, when a family friend gifted his father his old sidecar, which the pair restored and took out on the track.

Any dreams of competitive racing were put on hold by the Covid pandemic, however, and it was not until 2022 that he was able to get back on track.

A year later, Sam was old enough to join his brother and the two entered the Formula 2 sidecar championships, with Jack as the driver and Sam as the passenger.

Then they swapped roles, and success came quickly…

A game of nerves

Tearing down a race track at 160mph, inches off the ground with your elder brother on board can be a terrifying experience.

But, as the man at the controls, Sam says the nerves are at their worst in the run-up to a race.

“Even a week ahead, you are thinking about it all the time,” he says. “The nerves build when you get to the circuit, and peak as you put the leathers on and reach for the crash helmet.

“You just think, ‘why am I doing this when I could be back home feeding the sheep?’

“The adrenaline really kicks in on the start grid, thinking about the race ahead and everything that could go wrong.

“Then the lights go green and it all disappears. It’s then all about getting the maximum speed out of the machine, passing the bike in front. Nothing else really registers.”

© Vin Cent Photography

The 2024 season

This competitive mentality came to the fore in 2024 when Jack and Sam launched their first proper assault on the British Sidecar Championship.

“There are six rounds to the championship, with two or three races each race weekend,” says Jack.

“I remember in Round 1 at Pembrey, we were hoping for a top 10 finish. When I looked at the pit board in qualifying, I thought it said 11th. When we got back to the pit lane, we found it had actually said first.”

The actual races saw the pair finish third, then second, then first, and the season just unfolded from there, including a double win at Knockhill in the pouring rain.

Going into the final round at Brands Hatch in October, Jack and Sam were leading their main rivals, Lewis Blackstock and Paddy Rosney, by just two and a half points.

The first race saw their relative positions switch round, meaning Jack and Sam had to finish ahead in the second race to take the championship.

As the pair were closing in for a planned overtake on the final lap, Blackstock and Rosney suffered engine failure.

It left the farming brothers from Cumbria with a simple run-in to the finish line, making them the youngest ever pair to lift the British championship.

Keys to success

Asked what are the keys to success, both brothers point immediately to their farming backgrounds and the strong sense of family that has engendered.

“We are such a close-knit family – both on the farm and on the track,” says Jack. 

“My Dad does the prep, then on the track it’s just me, my brother and the bike. We feel as one. It’s beautiful.

“Then we see my little sister holding the pit board and we just want to go faster.”

Sam agrees, adding that, while farm life can be quite isolating, it teaches you independence and adaptability.

“We’re a tight group and that helps. We spend a lot of time together and know each other inside out.”

As for the future, well, the focus is on defending their British title, but also having a crack at the World Championships in 2025.

A new chassis arrived before Christmas and the brothers have been busy assembling a new bike in a shed on the farm, and testing it over the winter, ready for the start of the new season.

The farming side of things

Farming for the Laidlows takes place at Dufton Wood Farm, near Appleby in the east of Cumbria.

Andrew has rented the holding from his godmother for the past 14 years, having opted for a career change in his late 30s. Before that, he worked as an electrician.

“My godmother’s previous tenant had died and the farm was in a bit of a state,” Andrew explains.

“Me and my wife Kirsten were looking for something else out of life, so we reached an agreement that we would rent the farm and do up the house and buildings as part of the deal.”

© Andy Laidlow

The farm comes with about 30ha of lowland grazing at the foot of the Pennines, and the Laidlows rent a further 72ha of hill ground.

“We tried a number of different things, including overwintering cattle for a dairy farmer, but that ended when there was a bovine TB outbreak in the area,” says Andrew.

Now the farm is home to a flock of about 150 Herdwick ewes and hoggs.

“We used to have more, but have downsized a bit, since the lads went racing, because of the time constraint.”

The farm also has an ongoing Countryside Stewardship scheme, with an emphasis on tree planting, which is another useful income stream.

Jack, who is also studying at the University of South Wales, says he loves being back on the farm in the holidays.

Between race weekends he is fully involved in tasks including lambing, haymaking, tree planting and maintenance.

“I’ve lived on the farm since the age of eight and it is part of who we are, though most of the real farming is actually done by my younger sister, Katie,” he says.

Caught on film

Jack (left) and Sam Laidlow © On Track Media

The achievements of Jack and Sam are featured in a new YouTube video called The Laidlows, Farmyards and Sidecars, put together by production company On Track Media.

The 24-minute film tells the story of Jack and Sam’s journey into motorsport, how it derives from a farming background, and how the brothers interact and work together to achieve success.

Most of the film, however, focuses on the final weekend of the 2024 season at Brands Hatch in Kent.

It provides a fascinating insight into life in the pitlane, machine preparation, the pre-race nerves, and the sheer joy of lifting the championship at the first attempt. It’s well worth a look.